COON RAPIDS, MINN. - The Madison College women's basketball team suffered a pair of losses over the weekend at the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Tournament, falling 58-48 against St. Cloud Technical & Community College on Friday and 80-57 on Saturday against the hosts from Anoka-Ramsey Community College. The WolfPack are now 3-2 against the Cyclones and 5-10 against the Golden Rams.

Game #1 (Friday): St. Cloud Technical & Community College 58, Madison College 48

The weekend's opening game began with a back-and-forth first quarter that featured three lead changes and three ties in the first ten minutes, which ended with the WolfPack leading 17-14 thanks to an Amareyna Knox three-pointer with five seconds life. That basket triggered a 10-2 run that culminated in a three-point play from Laurissa Pickel to run the 'Pack advantage to eight points. Seven consecutive St. Cloud Technical & Community College (1-0) points narrowed the gap to one before Madison College went into the locker room up three. Midway through the third quarter the Cyclones regained the lead and never looked back, outscoring the WolfPack 19-6 in opening ten minutes of the half. The deficit grew to 16 in the fourth quarter, which never saw the WolfPack move the margin inside of ten.

Madison College was led by Knox, a freshman guard from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as she poured in a career-high 11 points. She finished a perfect 4 for 4 at the free throw line to key a 17 for 23 effort by the team. Knox also had nine of the team's 24 turnovers. Fellow first year guard Taylor Ripp was the only other player in double-figures with ten points to match her season-best output. The Lodi, Wisconsin, native also produced eight rebounds, while leading the team with four assists and four steals. Sophomore Olivia Marron had eight points and three blocks, and freshman Lauren Thole added seven points and a career-high ten rebounds.

The game finished with the WolfPack shooting 22% (15-67) overall and with one make in 15 attempts outside the arc. The Cyclones held advantages in points off turnovers (15-9), second chance points (11-7), and rebounding (63-50).

Game #2 (Saturday): Anoka-Ramsey Community College 80, Madison College 57

The final game of the weekend for Madison College did not start as planned with the host Golden Rams scoring the first nine points as part of a 22-9 first quarter. Anoka-Ramsey then tallied the first 11 points of the second quarter to extend the differential to 24 points before the game settled into a more competitive flow entering halftime with a 44-21 tally. The teams would both score 36 points in the second half. 

All nine WolfPack players scored in the game with freshmen Lauren Thole and Laurissa Pickel pacing the attack with nine points each. Thole, a product of Lancaster, Wisconsin, converted 4 for 9 shots from the field, while Pickel, a former Weston HS athlete, made two of her three buckets from long range. Olivia Marron produced eight points, to go along with team-high's with three assists and three blocks. Taylor Ripp was tops in rebounding with a carere-high ten boards, and joined Brianna Hendricks with seven points each.

The WolfPack shot 21 of 55 (38%) from the floor, 3 of 8 (37%) beyond the arc, and 12 of 21 (51%) at the charity stripe. Anoka-Ramsey Community College (2-0) generated sizable advantages in several other categories, including a 32-15 lead in points off turnovers and 22-10 in second chance points. Madison College had a season-worst 36 turnovers.

Up Next:

Madison College (0-4) will begin a three-game home stand on Saturday, November 20 against Carl Sandburg College (0-2). The WolfPack have won three straight in the head-to-head series and is 4-4 all-time against the Chargers. Tip off inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium is at 1:00 p.m. The game will stream live here.

Follow WolfPack women's basketball: Facebook | Twitter